Spanish foreign minister Alfonso Dastis responded by telling the UK to calm down and not to "lose tempers".

Mr Tusk disclosed he would be visiting Mrs May for talks ahead of the EU summit meeting at the end of the month when he unveiled the Brexit negotiation guidelines last week.

Also thought to have been discussed was the timing of trade talks.

The draft guidelines said the UK would have to make "sufficient progress" on key divorce issues such as settling the Brexit bill and guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens before starting talks on a future trade deal with the EU.

However, MEPs in the European Parliament on Wednesday voted to delay trade talks until the key issues on Brexit were "fully resolved" - setting the bar for the UK higher.